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As you may have noticed, this is Part 3 of our move from Woolgoolga to Mareeba. Part 1 took us up through the southern, centre of Queensland and out to the coast from Rockhampton. Part 2 is of our stay at Kinka Beach, south of Yeppoon and a night of glamping at Great Keppel Island. Now, Part 3, we head north along to the coast and then inland from Kurrimine and through to Malanda, then up to Mareeba which is an hour inland from Cains.
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CLAIRVIEW
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Both photos above were taken at BaraCrab Caravan Park, Clairview. Last time going up this coastline, we free stayed at Carmila Pub which was a good decision at the time. This time we planned to stay there again, however decided to change plans on the hop. It was a good idea as we wanted to see some more of the northern Queensland coastline. It is said that there is not much to see driving from Brisbane to Cairns. We beg to differ. True, a lot of places you can't swim because of the crocs and jellyfish, but there are still some pretty spots on the way.
The thing that attracted me to the BaraCrab is that it is right on the beach and also has a restaurant and bar with tables and chairs overlooking this beautiful beach. Hubby and I shared a burger and chips along with a couple of beers and had a great conversation with the lady that you see on the beach in the first photo. She had recently had a messy divorce, the kids took his side and she fell into depression. Poor thing. However, once she retired, she bought herself a nice big motor home and is travelling around Australia with her cute doggie. Meeting people like us is her passion and she is finally at peace and happy. Good for you Julie!!
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MARLBOROUGH
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As we were on a timeline this time, the drivinig time in between destinations was more like 3 to 3 1/2 hours, therefore it's best to find somewhere to stop in between to break the journey up and stretch our legs. I found a cute little town in between Yepoon and Clairview called Marlborough. Makes me think of the Marlborough country song you may recall if you too are around our age. Unfortunately that song was associated with cigarettes.
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Anyway this little town consisted of a Corner Store and the Post Office. The Corner Store is also a Cafe called Grandmas which had raving reviews for the food, so we had to check that out. Yes, we can say with confidence that the food was good and made fresh. The Post Office also had a gift shop worth checking out.
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BOWEN
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Second time in Bowen and we stayed again with Trudy at Base Camp, 10 minutes out of town.
Most people head to Airlie Beach as it is well known as the 'Gold Coast' of the Whitsundays. Bowen is up the road and has better beaches, hands down! It also has a fabulous Seafood Cafe at the marina called Birds Fish Bites that we went to last time. This time we visited twice, for fish & chips and also a prawn feast with left overs to take with us for a picnic on the way to our next destination.
If you want to stay at Trudy's camp, the easiest way is to contact Trudy through the Bowen Informaton Centre on the highway south of Bowen. Base Camp is still just $25 per night and has drinking water, but no power and no dump point. You need to be self contained. They supply bins and a fire pit plus cheap fire wood if you need it. The view over the mountains is gorgeous and they have fairy lights around the trees. There is an array of bird life too. We drove into the Showgrounds to use the loos every morning, taking with us our rubbish.
We took the opportunity to visit our favourite beach again at Horseshoe Bay and enjoyed a couple of drinks at the Cafe right opposite the beach. Trudy also encouraged us to visit the weekend markets at Horseshoe Bay. We totally recommend that.
I took a series of nice photos on the beach with my crystal ball. They turned out real good, don't you think?
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AYR
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I discovered a nice rest area on our way to Townsville at Ayr called Plantation Park.
There is plenty of room for RV's and Caravans and it is just off the highway and easy to access. We had a picnic with our prawns from Bowen and enjoyed the surrounding landscape. There is an Information Centre here, clean toilets, a play park for the kids and concrete pathways for dog walking.
We recommend this stop when passing through.
I couldn't give a review of Plantation Park as Google says it's closed. Huh? Maybe there was more before. So I added my review to the Plantation Park Nature Play on Google. Same, same 😉
Oh and there is a Australian Big Thing here too to add to my list. The Big Python.
TOWNSVILLE
Well Townsville was a pleasant surprise. We were very impressed with the foreshore walk. It is well kept with nice landscaped gardens, and a paved walking path beside the beach and a sidewalk with Cafes and Restaurants on the other side.
There is also a jetty were we watched some locals and a cormorant fishing. There is another Australian Big Thing here to. The Big Mermaid.
We had brunch at a Cafe, sorry, no photos. They have bottles on each table filled with water and vinegar to spray at the Ibises who frequent this area. I was watching a nice young couple who had just ordered their croissants and coffee and an Ibis just came from nowhere and stole his food! Picked it up in his beak and flew off with it. That's how quick they are! Poor couple were traumatised. I was ok though as they ended up going inside for their food and he was given another croissant.
We visited Queens Park and I took some nice flower and bird photos.
The Big 4 Gateway Tourist Park was a fabulous choice. Yes, it is a little out of town, but very close to the highway and Fairfield Shopping Centre for all of our needs. The best thing about here is the cost. I couldn't believe that it was only $32 a night. I thought there would have to be some sort of catch, but no, it has all of the amenities that a Big 4 should and they were very clean. Staff are nice and the resident Curlews kept us entertained. The pool was nice and clean and great to cool off in after sightseeing. The camp kitchen is very big. The only thing that was strange was the washing machines with a barcode on the wall and $7 per wash. I would normally get on my high horse and go ballistic about the inconvenience and cost, but no, I was so happy with the cheap cost to stay here, that I didn't even bat an eyelid.
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Hubby wanted an Asian dinner fix here. I found Lotus Restaurant in town. I wished I hadn't.
Whilst hubby enjoyed his dinner here, mine was horrible. I ordered what sounded like home made coconut wraps with pork meat etc inside. A huge one came out. Looked good..... however in reality, it was filled with grated carrot and I could not even find the meat. Yuk!
KURRIMINE BEACH
The Wiki and Google reviews for Beach Bums Camp at Kurrimine Beach were so good that we decided to stay the night here. I was willing to pay much less for just a camp site and would have been quite happy with that, but hubby wanted his comforts so we paid $40 for power and water. Shower and toilets are included for all and also the use of their large pool that looks like a forgotton olympic pool in the middle of nowhere lol.
Paul & Helen are fabulous hosts, making us feel most welcome. Helen is a little fire bug and got the big fire place pumping for us and we sat out in the evening and had a great chat along with some others who were staying the night as well. They also have cabin style accommodation. We enjoyed our stay here and highly recommend it.
Just about 3 minutes drive down the road is the beach. We enjoyed a couple of drinks at the pub overlooking the beach. Another great off the beaten path place on the Queensland cost that most drive by. We love finding these hidden treasures.
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MENA CREEK
Mena Creek is the home of Paronella Park, an expensive tourist attraction. The story goes like this - Jose Paronella arrived from Catelonia, Spain in 1913. He worked cutting sugar cane which is still big in this area. He bought and sold sugar cane farms and in 1924, he returned to spain and married Margarita and brought her back to Australia. They purchased this block of land and built a castle which was opened to the public in 1935. The main attraction was a big ball that hung from the ceiling with 1270 mirrors that reflected around the room during turning. Reminds me of the disco balls of the 70's.
They lived through floods and renovated the property on a number of occasions until Jose passed away from cancer and Margarita remaried and moved to Brisbane. The property was left in a run-down state and eventually sold out in 1977. Sadly, a fire swept through in 1979 and destroyed most of it. Later, cyclones devistated renovations further.
Mark and Judy Evans purchased it in 1993 and planned to bring it back to life. They have plowed a stack of money into it including $450,000 to restore the original hydro electric system. Today, the restored Castle is a testoment to the original story and the plan to share with the public.
We didn't check it out as $62 per person entry fee is not what I am willing to pay, no matter how majestic it is.
So we just stopped for a short while and checked out Mena Creek Falls which is free and pretty impressive in itself. Unfortunately the suspension bridge was closed. That was disappointing.
SOUTH JOHNSTONE
I hadn't planned to make another stop, however when we drove into the small town of South Johnstone which obviously has survived due to the local sugar factory, we were getting a little hungry and saw that there was a parking stop right outside of the big green hotel in town.
This was a nice little surprise. It wasn't quite lunch time so their breakfast menue looked real good. We shared a lovely fresh bacon & egg bun and washed it down with a corona each. It was pleasant sitting outside on the big stools overlooking a nice garden area. A local turned up on his way to pick up one of his working dogs that had just had an operation and we chatted happily for half an hour.
It was weird to have the can train tracks run right through town and adjacent to the road.
We enjoyed our little stop here at the local pub in South Johnstone.
MALANDA
Malanda Falls Caravan Park didn't disappoint. Good location, close to town and you can walk to the falls from the caravan park. It has drive through sites which makes it easier to park and they have chooks and a rooster wandering around and goats and cute guinea pigs too. A nice touch.
We visited the falls from the other side of the bridge near a fabulous Information Centre which is well worth a visit. There is a big swimming pool at the falls too which is pretty cool.
We enjoyed our stay at Malanda.
LAKE ETCHAM
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I have been to Lake Etcham before with my good friend Dorrise. This was hubby's first time. It has a great swimming hole, so I guess we may frequent this place in summer as it is less than 45 minutes from Mareeba.
There is a nice concrete pathway around the lake surrounded by rainforest. I managed to take some nice photos of these cute little birds and we even saw some turtles swimming in the lake.
TOLGA
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We decided to check out Eventide Distillery here at Tolga as the Google reviews were good. We didn't try the tastings but opted for a glass each of Rose wine and making our own cheese board.
Unfortunately, they didn't have much of a selection of cheeses and no meat which would have been nice. Only 1 lot of crackers and just a couple of different jars of olives. Looks like they had run out of stuff. Consequently, only a 3 star Google review from me, however I did say that we would come back and hopefully get a better deal next time.
There is an Australian Big Thing here, the Big Peanut. Not sure what that's there for?.... No peanut shop within cooee.
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MAREEBA TRINITY PLAINS TOURIST PARK
We made it!
Here is our little spot at Trinity Plains Tourist Park in Mareeba.
Stay tuned for more pages of Mareeba and surrounds.
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MAPS
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VIDEOS - TO COME
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